


Belly run

by Matrioshka_City



Series: Artemis' REVORESION (spinoff) [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters Diamond-Pearl Legend: Pokémon DP | Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Belly, Belly Kink, Buddy comedy, Bullying, Comedy, Comfort Food, Cuddle, Cute, Digestion, Dominance, Eating, Eating Disorders, F/M, Food baby, Friendship, Gross, Himbo, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Intimacy, Lesbian, Lima Syndrome, Master/Pet, Non-Consensual Bondage, Roommates, Slice of Life, Stockholm Syndrome, Stuffing, Touch-Starved, Vore, cuddly, stomach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:14:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24623779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matrioshka_City/pseuds/Matrioshka_City
Summary: Another installment of my REVORESION fanfic based on the classic vore tale by Artemis.Rosa keeps happily digesting Roark ("cuddlebump") Of Oreburgh in the sanctity of her new home.But a quiet, peaceful morning at Roark's place is suddenly giving way to the declaration of the state of emergency as Rosa remembers an important exam she was supposed to take on that very day. It's a race against time, with a belly that makes running impractical, to say the least... but perhaps this could be yet another bonding opportunity with her "room mate".
Series: Artemis' REVORESION (spinoff) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1780345
Kudos: 1





	1. Belly run (Part1)

**Author's Note:**

> RECOMMENDED SOUNDTRACK:
> 
> (all songs converted to their appropriate in-universe counterparts)
> 
> Angelspit, '100%’, kick dance remix
> 
> HIDDEN BONUS SOUNDTRACK:
> 
> Dana Ross, 'Upside Down’, instrumental

~1~

Rosa blinked. The light of the morning sun was tickling her nose with warm kisses, and little specks of glittering dust were dancing through the room. She yawned and closed her eyes again, happily sinking back into her dreams.

(“Good morning!!”)  
Roark’s cheerful voice was WAY to close. Instead of resonating in her general pelvis area as she had come to expect, it came from right under her lungs, facing her spine.

Rosa SCREAMED.

(“ROSA!!”) Her excessive panic had clearly taken him by surprise. (“Rosa! Easy, there! Calm down! It’s just me! Everything is alright!”)

“HOLY DEPTHS, WHAT’S GOING ON?! What… Okay… Okay…Oh-kay…”  
She clenched the bedsheet really tight and took a series of deep, deep breaths.  
“…What the [REDACTED], Roark. What happened…?”

(“I rotated…!”) He declared. It was obvious he was proud of this feat, but her reaction had put a serious damper on the occasion.

“How?!”

(“Very, very, very-very-very. Very slowly, and carefully. I can wriggle my feet and hands a bit, and so it was all about stamina and determination. Pretty nifty, right…?”)

Alas, by now it was safe to say that she didn’t share his enthusiasm.  
“Well, UN-rotate yourself right this instant, MISTER! And NEVER do anything like this again.” Her voice was like ice water.

(“But…”)

“NO buts! You do NOT just “rotate” in there without my consent! I’m seriously freaking out right now.“

(“Alright, alright, sheesh… SORRY, I guess. Duly noted.”) He let out a thunderous groan. (“Let’s see… this might take a while…”)

Rosa could feel his feet move in her pelvis as he slowly, ever so slowly started sliding over her stomach walls again. She exhaled thoroughly.  
“Seriously man, never again… Serious body horror right there. Total dysphoria. Are you trying to give me a heart attack….?”

She let herself drop back into the pillow, her heartbeat only now returning to a reasonably healthy rhythm.  
“I… I guess I’ll try to get back to sleep. Wake me up when you’re done.”

~2~

After her morning coffee - (“Yeah sure go ahead, it’s not like that’s PIPING hot”), Roark said - Rosa started pondering the best way to start her day.

She stretched her arms and yawned.

“We should do another workout. You know, like the other day? I’m not planning on passing close to a year just sitting around looking vaguely spherical, while my muscles are rotting away. You’re seriously doing a number on my… well, the entire anatomy, basically. Everything hurts, nothing bends like it’s supposed to, it’s a mess.”

(“Yeah, how are we even alive, still? The both of us? … But going back to that “workout” thing, is that… STRICTLY necessary? Can we at least stick to some light yoga this time…?“)

Rosa raised an eyebrow.  
"Look at you, talking like it was YOUR flabby butt on the line…”

She had already launched the tutorial and her mind was occupied with the first position, her eyes focused on the full- body mirror in front of her. Rosa exhaled dramatically as she slowly moved into a crouching position.

When the yoga video was through, she launched the next one.

(“Okay, so THAT does not feel like light yoga anymore. What are you doing?”), Roark protested. (“Is that what I think it is?”)

“Yup. Hardcore Kick Dancing, Third Trimester Edition. I need myself a challenge, Mister.”

Rosa was rather partial to the background remix of that tutorial, too, and found herself lip-synching:

~Dip my tail in blood ink / Write it down in red/ Scribe the words "happy meal”/ Right across your head…~

(“…Dammit, Rosa!! We’ve talked about this!”)

“As I recall… YOU were whining about it… and I patted you on the butt and said… “There, there”. Frankly, I have a hard time feeling sorry for you… considering how gassy you make me, all the time… and now my burps all smell like gross man-farts.“

("Aaaaaaah… See: I wish you hadn’t TOLD me that, just now.”) After a little pause: (“I also wish you stopped spinning like that. I’m gonna puke.”)

“Be my guest, buster… As far as I’m concerned… we’ve moved to ‘beyond gross’ on day one… Uuuuuuah!!”

She lost her balance, and managed to grab the kitchen counter at the very last second.

She wheezed, horrified. “That… that could have been my NECK.”

She turned off the video, trembling, and breaking out in cold sweat.

(“SEE?!”) Roark cried out.

Rosa frowned.  
“There’s a solution for everything… I’m thinking… If you have enough leeway to "rotate” in there, maybe we’ve got something to work with…“  
Rosa took another moment to compose herself.  
"If I turn like THIS…”  
She slowly moved to the side, then pressed her hands against her belly.  
“… and at the same time, YOU act as a counterweight of sorts and move like SO…” She gently pressed against his flank to demonstrate.

(“Mhm, yeah. I’m not doing that.”)

“Come on, Roark! Give it a try! It’s gonna be FUN! Are you telling me you don't want to be fun…?”  
She knew it was time to shift her voice to “extra sweet” now.  
“Roark of Oreburgh, a boring, grumpy, FARTY man-baby.”

(“Stop quoting that creepy obituary you wrote for me… But you know what, FINE. WHATEVER.”)

“That’s the spirit!” Rosa said categorically, and relaunched the dance video.

After a few tries, with Roark finally overcoming his reluctance and deciding to humor her, they managed to perform increasingly complex routines.

“HA!” Rosa cried out, sweaty but happy, “what did I tell you? You’re a NATURAL, Roark! Wanna try one more?”

Roark was blushing inside her. Rosa had grown so attuned to him that if she concentrated, she was able to tell by the subtle change in temperature.

(“… I suppose so.”)

Rosa grinned and patted her belly.  
“Good man.”  
Nothing like a bit of strategic positive reinforcement, every now and then!

~3~

As Rosa relaxed in the shower after her workout, just letting the blissfully hot water rain down on her aching neck and back, she used the occasion to examine the stretch marks on her belly again. She thought they looked like a more elaborate version of the flames one might spray paint on the sides of a van.

She had noticed that she spent a lot of time looking at her body now, her eyes glued to almost every mirror she walked by. These changes were just so bizarre, but it was like an intricate train wreck in slow motion - almost impossible to look away.

Weirdly, this whole thing was a bit like a reverse pregnancy: Rosa’s belly was actually slowly getting SMALLER over time as her body valiantly continued to fold and compress the foreign object inside, and actually managed to leech a fair bit of nutrients out of it, to boot. The doctors said it was a bit of a tug of war - two living systems facing off with constant freak mutations to decide who would expand, and who had to yield, who had to adapt and who was allowed to slowly return to a - very approximate - version of their natural self. It had been a bit touch and go at first, but to Rosa’s immense relief, Roark was firmly beating in retreat now. He had lost even more weight, and his limbs wrapped around in ways that would not have been possible before, according to the X-rays. Much of his skeleton had started to turn into cartilage. Poor Roark was now - by far - the world’s most accomplished contortionist; incidentally, also its most involuntary.

Obviously, his whole metabolism had changed as well. They even speculated that his skin had changed so as to secrete concentrated nutrients - protection money to Rosa’s digestive system. By contrast, all of his remaining clothes, theoretically the most indigestible part, had disappeared in a matter of days, melting away under the onslaught of Rosa’s powerful stomach acids, with no mutation ability to defend themselves. It would be quite the spectacle when he got out (If ever), though the doctors were cautiously optimistic that the mutations would reverse fairly quickly once the extreme environmental pressure disappeared.

That whole thing was apparently made possible by early human colonists… interacting with some ditto-like creature, back in ancient times - though the adaptive morphing ability was near absent in most of the population, unless triggered by bizarre circumstances, as in poor little Roark’s case (other notable cases included people surviving being shocked by a Pikachu, burned to a crisp with fire breath, and “blasting off” into the sky). Rosa had won the genetic lottery, basically.

Her mind kept wandering.

The regular trips to the local medical facility were a bit of a nuisance. Rosa had never been a big fan of doctors and hospitals, but unfortunately, she was no stranger to the concept - one time, during her travels, she even had to be airlifted out of a ravine, many of her bones broken after a fall that might have straight up killed a person without her regenerative abilities.  
Not to mention that… other, long-term thing she really didn’t want to think about right now.

Anyway, for her peculiar case, they had improvised a little ad hoc task force of doctors and midwives. Headed by none other than the - apparently - world famous Dr. Zoe. A niche specialist who just so happened to live in Oreburgh, as luck would have it.

Dr.Zoe was a tall and robust woman with broad shoulders, deep wrinkles on her front head and large, but surprisingly nimble and gentle hands. Always kept her grey hair in a tight bun. The eyes behind her narrow, rectangular glasses, which always reminded Rosa of a squinting carnivore, were not without warmth - but her tired stare was that of a woman who had seen too much.

Rosa had marveled at the plentiful diagrams and scale-models of various body cavities in the doctor’s office.  
“Wow. So big things being stuck in tight places is kinda your passion, huh?”

The doctor had raised her eyes to the ceiling and groaned.  
“Passion? I don’t think so. Life lesson, kid: if you do a good job, ONCE, the reward is an endless parade of other jobs just like it…”

Of course for Roark’s sake there had to be some additional… accommodations, with him completely pulled out of his life like that.

One of the weirdest things, living with Roark, was whenever he had to call his mother. They had an agreement that he would call her at least every couple of weeks, and to honor that agreement, Rosa would hold his phone to her belly, as Roark explained to his mom that the strange, muffled acoustics were due to bad reception. He believed that it was absolutely crucial to hide his current predicament from his mother for as long as possible.

Just yesterday, Rosa had been reading on her own phone during one of these calls, and something on her timeline had made her giggle.

“ROARK”, the gym leader’s mother had said in a strangely sweet voice, “Is there a WOMAN with you?”

(“No, ma-ma”), Roark had said, like a LIAR.

Rosa had taken a sip from a glass of water, just so she could do a spit take.

(“I’m serious, Rosa”), he had told her after the phone call, (“Don’t sabotage this. It’s for your own benefit. If she finds out about us, she will do HORRIBLE things to you… And even worse things to me - that woman is NEVER on board with any of my life choices, and everything that happens to me is a “life choice”, in her book. “)

"Pffft. Textbook case of a mama’s boy”, Rosa had quipped, “that explains SO much about you… By the way, I hope you realize that I expect you to give me regular phone calls, too, once (if, hehe) you ever get out of there.”

(“Not my mama!”), he had replied, (“Holy depths – I’m, like, 3 years OLDER than you!”)

ROSA's mother, incidentally, thought the whole thing was flat out hilarious, and said she'd love to meet her new "grandson" one day.  
Ever since it had become abundantly clear that her daughter didn't really care for men, her mother had kinda assumed that adoption would be involved in the grandkids-generating process.

Another month had gone by at this point, still a lot more to go. Rosa was glad that the hair-brained scheme that she had come up with on the fly on the day she had eaten Roark seemed to be working out alright. How exactly she FELT about the details of its execution - that was a strangely complicated, frankly a bit uncomfortable question, and Rosa suspected the answer was probably linked in some way to her new-found obsession with mirrors.

Well, she just had to soldier through this. Time was flying by and…

Wait.

She froze.  
Time. Flying by. Several months. Long-term plans. Was there something she ought to remember…?

For a few moments, Rosa just listened to the gentle sound of the falling water on her skin.

Then, for the second time this morning, Rosa SCREAMED.

~4~

“I’m LATE!! I’m terribly, terribly late!”  
Rosa stumbled out of the shower, and for the second time this morning, Rosa almost broke her neck.

Before Roark could ask, she already continued her rant.  
“My LICENSE! My advanced trainer’s license!! I passed my first exam when I was 17…”

As a gym leader, Roark could easily do the math.  
(“Normally, for the advanced license, you must go through a whole bunch of seminars and pass the second part of the exam within a five-year timespan, at the very most…”)

“…I was able to negotiate an extension!! But the last possible exam date… IS TODAY!! 1 pm!! And the next examination center is in ANOTHER CITY!”  
She dove straight into the first dress she could get a hold of - the white one with the frills and the glittering silvery hood that looked like fish scales. Barely time to dry her hair and grab her purse…

“Aaaargh, how could I forget!! This is bad, this is REALLY bad! And now I have to drive myself, for almost two HOURS, and driving is SO awkward now…!”  
She clumsily hopped out of the house as she put on her big black biker boots… her crushing shoes for when running was essential and any obstacle on her path needed to be swiftly flattened.

(“Can we still make it?”)

“Theoretically, yes! If only I had left ten minutes ago, that is!! Crap, crap, crap!”

Roark felt a strange calm come over him.  
(“It’s okay, you can do this. Put on your seatbelt. I can tell you didn’t put on your seatbelt!”)

Rosa suddenly felt herself freezing up.  
“Roark! Roark.”

(“What?!”)

“You’re not coming out right now, are you?! You’re not about to plop out of my body, any second now?!"

(“I don’t follow!!”)

Rosa was close to hyperventilating.  
“My mom, my mama, when she was pregnant with me and her water broke, she had to drive herself to the hospital, and I can’t handle it, Roark, I can’t…”

(“ROSA. First of all, not my mama. Second of all, not YOUR mama. Third of all, you’re not driving yourself to the maternity ward, but to some stupid test. BREATHE. Ground yourself. Drink that soda in the glove compartment.”)

“Yes…!” And: “Wow, you remembered the soda, that’s almost scary.”

(“Yes, let’s go with “almost”, “almost” is good… now GO! Go Go Go!“)


	2. Belly run (Part2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To the exam! And may the odds ever be in her favor...

~5~

They drove in silence for a few minutes.

Rosa internally cursed the Sinnoh speed limits. Even her tiny, almost egg-shaped car (highly modified to better suit her new form) could have done much better time with laxer regulations. Luckily, there were not a lot of other cars around, both because it was not a very popular mode of transport these days, and because of the time of day.

The landscape was gorgeous, of course. The mountains and forests and fields, the little rivers crisscrossing it all, the mossy boulders sticking out of the ground like sleeping giants. The sun had even come out, rays of concentrated sunlight bursting through the trees. Part of Rosa wanted to get angry at that, like the beauty of the land was mocking her, by telling her to slow down, so she could devote her life to properly appreciating it.

Then again, she supposed part of her was glad. Being pulled back into the action, all of a sudden, after weeks of bizarre un-time, being stuck in and around the house, with only small trips into sleepy Oreburgh…

But yeah, most of all, Rosa was pissed.

(“Soooo…”) Roark finally said. (“The advanced trainer’s license, huh? You only really need that thing if you want to teach, in an academic setting. That sort of thing.”)

“What’s your point, Roark?” Rosa was glad to find that the old icy chill had tentatively returned into her voice.

(“I dunno. Never took you for the… teaching type. I’m visualizing it with morbid fascination.”)

“Oh, shut up. You don’t know everything about me.”

Roark was tempted to say something about knowing her “in and out”, but had the good sense to keep that to himself.

Rosa sighed, allowing herself to breathe a bit.  
“I’m keeping my options open, I guess. Just like with that acting thing.”

Roark had a quick flashback to the… incident, and shuddered. That was TOTALLY a conversation for another day.  
(“So, that test. How are we feeling about it…?”)

“It’s the advanced trainer’s license”, Rosa snapped, “I am an ADVANCED TRAINER. Kicked the butts of a whole lot of trainers a whole lot more powerful than you. For crying out loud, I became UNOVA CHAMPION when I was 13. That’s what BABY Rosa was up to.”

She realized with increasing dread that this triggered memories of a period of her life that she did NOT actually want to talk about, and that only made her angrier.  
"And what did YOU do, at that point, huh? Fart into mine shafts every day? Same as every other year since?”

Maybe a bit harsh, she had to admit, but he was really brushing against some raw wounds here.

Roark wouldn’t let this go.  
(“Tournaments are competitions based on tactical skill and improvisation. In the second part of the exam, the questions can get a lot more theoretical…”)

“I’m not some PEASANT, Roark! … There, I almost ran something over, just now.”  
She honked.  
“You pompous butthead. I could really do without you… FOODSPLAINING at me, right now.”

She could hear Roark take a deep, oh-so exasperated breath, in that classic male, man-ish man way.  
(“Fair enough. What I’m trying to say is, though, they recruit me for the exam committee, sometimes. We’ve got over an hour left, so if you want, we can still go over a thing or two. Just so you see what’s coming, exactly. Getting into the zone.”)

Rosa reluctantly agreed to a pop quiz. Blissfully, she got pretty much everything right on the first try. But one question left her so stumped that she started to panic.

(“…No, see, that’s alright"), the gym leader said, (“That was a nasty one, a bit of a trick question. They put that in almost every test, though, just switching up the phrasing. Now what you want to remember is…”)

~6~

Rosa experienced yet another brief spike of panic when she realized she wasn’t sure she would be able to find the right place, but Roark pointed out that the exams were always held at the same convention center next to the local gym, and this one was rather easy to spot.

They were already closing the doors to the convention center when she arrived. Rosa got out of her car and screamed, confusing the guards long enough for her to slip through.

She crashed into the counter for the registration like a meteoroid, flooding the name lists with tears and sweat, but they DID let her in, and that was all that mattered.

The examination room was a big hall with several dozen desks placed in generous intervals, so that exam supervisors were able to patrol at their leisure.

After a brief introduction (no phones allowed, no textbooks, no expert trainers smuggled in as backup) they handed out the exam papers, intimidating rows upon rows upon rows of multiple-choice questions.

Rosa felt as if time was stretching and contracting in weird ways.

~7~

Rosa glanced at the big clock at the other side of the hall. Only fifteen minutes remaining! And so many questions to go. Crucially: no more time to waste…

“Roooark”, Rosa hissed, “we’ve got a… situation.”

(“Oh wow, perfect timing. Hit me with the good news, sister.”)

Grinning painfully, she whispered:  
“Remember how I told you that you’re squeezing my bladder…?”

(“Oh. You mean…?”)

He really should have seen it coming. He could feel her pelvis squirming below, but only now did he put 2 and 2 together. He had previously assumed that she was just being nervous…

“Yup. I gotta pee. Gotta pee! Really bad.”

(“Well that’s not good. Can you hold it?”)

Rosa rolled her eyes.  
“Oh I’m holding it, alright, but I don’t know for how long that’s gonna be an option. So… DO something!”

(“Me?! What am I supposed to do?”)

“I dunno, Mister, this is your hood. MEDIATE.”

(“You… want me to talk to your bladder…?”)

“Whatever it takes, I don’t care. Do me a solid. Use your imagination.”

(“HOLY depths… Alright… let’s see… I could try… soothing it? With ritual chanting…? Is that a thing?”)

“GO for it! My life is already SO damn weird.”

(“Here goes nothing, I guess… I heard this one down in the mines, that one time… Ahaem: ……… Oooooh… Ooooooohm… Oooooooooooooooohmala…. Ooooooomahla-Oooooohmala-Oooooohm… Ooooooomahla-Oooooohmala-Oooooohm… ”)

“Wow, keep going, you freak… I think it’s working… You probably just confused the poor thing, but I’ll take it.”

Rosa noticed something from the corner of her eye. She slowly raised her head… And found an exam supervisor right next to her desk, grinning sardonically from one ear to the other.

Rosa instantly felt her face turning hot and her heart drop like a stone, joining Roark in her tummy. (“Ouch”), Roark said.

“Young lady, what did we say about consulting with a GYM LEADER during the test…?”

“I… I… I…” This was it. She could feel the tears welling up inside.

But the supervisor didn’t stop smiling, and winked at her.  
“Relax. I overheard the whole conversation. I’ll allow it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna take my own, well-deserved pee break… so I can piss myself laughing.”

~8~

Luckily, the papers were graded near instantaneously, thanks to the multiple-choice format. Still, the waiting almost killed Rosa, as she was pacing up and down the hallway.

(“Rosa… may I remind you that this is not, in fact, the maternity ward?”) Roark proposed.

But Rosa wasn’t in the mood for banter. She resisted the urge to bite her nails.  
“…I GUESSED, Roark. Half the answers, I just guessed. And then I overheard some of the other people talking, just now, so I know for a fact I really messed up that last one… And…”

(“Life-hack, Rosa: NEVER listen to what the other people say after a test. They are trying to convince themselves of their work, more than anything else. And probably got it wrong, to boot…”)

~9~

When the results were finally displayed on the great monitor in the hall, Rosa was so nervous she had a hard time finding her place number, and when she ultimately did, she had to check two or three times to make sure she hadn’t mixed it up with the row above or below it. But no. The truth was undeniable, plain as day. Rosa had a strange sensation of weightlessness.

(”… Rosa…? Is everything alright? How did you do?“)

“I. Friggin. ACED it, son! I’m, like… all the way on top of the list… All the way on top…”

Now she started straight-up trembling in relief, her knees all weak and wobbly.

(“Congratulations! Would you look at that... still a champion, through and through!”)

“They never even used anything like your stupid trick question! And then there was that one thing… And… Aaaah!” She laughed. Completely oblivious to the people staring at her for talking to her own belly - though to be fair, most folks were too distracted by the test results to even notice.

Rosa started to relax completely… And then an internal alarm went off.

Oh yeah. There was still something that she had to take care of… something that couldn’t wait any longer.

And so she started running again.

~10~

After Rosa had finally let herself drop on the toilet, even people several stalls over were startled by her’s and Roark’s simultaneous thundering

“YESSSSSS!”

Rosa sighed. “Hey, wait a minute… what are YOU so happy about? You didn’t have to pee, right…?”

(“It’s called EMPATHY, Rosa, you should try it.”)

“Excuse me”, someone complained in the next stall over, “Is there a MAN in here?”

Perhaps lacking a bit of tact due to the sympathetic high from Rosa’s recent victory, Roark said, just loud enough to make it into the other stall:  
(“I dunno, is this washroom itself situated in a building, in a city, on a planet, in the known universe?! Let’s face it, we’re all a series of beautiful nested dolls, but the snappier answer is, mind your own damn business, LADY!”)

“Yeah”, Rosa intervened, “LITERALLY!”

She flushed, and she got out of there with as much dignity as she could muster.

The lady from the other stall decided to risk a peek when Rosa walked by, and after she had done that, she concluded it was high time to take her pills again.


	3. Belly run (Part3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victory! It's time to PARTY...!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RECOMMENDED SOUNDTRACK
> 
> (all songs converted to their appropriate in-universe counterparts)
> 
> Bigmouth, 'Everything goes in Florida’
> 
> Rani/ Sam Feldt, 'Post Malone’
> 
> The Pixies, 'Catfish Kate’

~11~

“So that was reasonably embarrassing”, Rosa beamed. She was happy, but also completely disoriented, not sure what to do with herself after this rollercoaster of emotions. She now felt a bit bad about how she had talked to Roark earlier. The calm after the storm…

Roark was pondering their latest adventure as well, somewhat in awe.  
(“I serenaded the bladder of an aspiring teacher today… I don’t think I could possibly sink any lower.”)

Rosa repressed a laughing fit as she pictured a detailed diagram of the human digestive tract… with a big red arrow pointing downwards.

Instead, she said:  
“Don’t be so sure about that, buddy. Let’s face it, you ARE a bit of a freak.”

(“At least I never straight-up vored anyone, “princess”! … Though granted, there was that one time in college where things got pretty intense…”)

“Speaking of vore…”

~12~

After her meager breakfast, the soda from the glove compartment, a trail mix and that lone, crushed chocolate bar what she had fished out of her purse earlier - she referred to that one in her mind as “Roark II” - Rosa was glad to find they had a cafeteria right at the convention center. It seemed like every single cell in her body was crying out for nourishment… so she simply grabbed one of everything.

She was just slurping up some noodles - and trying to ignore the creepy echo of Roark slurping some up in turn - when a shadow fell over her. She looked up, a bunch of noodles still hanging out of her mouth.

“Hi!” said the tall red-haired girl in front of her.  
She was speaking in a thick Unova accent.  
“You’re Rosa Gypaetus, right? You did really well on the exam. I’m impressed. I didn’t score anywhere near that high…”

Oh No. She is SUPER pretty, Rosa observed. She gulped, blushing violently.  
“Uhh.. I mean… You could say that… Hello!”

The stranger sat down on the chair opposite to Rosa and held out her hand.  
“My name is Cynthia, by the way! Nice to meet you!"

No.  
Cynthia. WHY did her namet have to be "Cynthia"?

“Uhm…” Rosa said, gingerly shaking the girl’s hand, trying to hold back a new wave of - bittersweet - memories threatening to sweep her away.  
“Hi… Cynthia… Nice to… meet you, too.. Yes…!”

She could hear a faint squeal rising up from her belly.  
Roark was getting giddy.  
(“Ohohoho… Rosa… Rooooosa… You’ve got a crush! You’re totally CRUSHING right now! I’m gonna cry… They grow up SO fast…”)

Rosa discreetly punched him under the table and prayed to all the old gods, and the new, that Cynthia hadn’t caught any of that.

“You are quite the legend back home, Rosa”, Cynthia said.  
“I’m a BIG fan. Followed all your league fights when I was a kid. And that STUNT you pulled…? I guess it’s supposed to be a secret until the movie comes out, but you know how it goes - spoilers fly fast…. They are singing your ballad in the streets. And the memes! Don’t get me started on the MEMES… TOTAL legend.”

Rosa blushed even more furiously.

Cynthia chuckled.  
“He was a gym leader, right? Is that…”  
She cheekily tilted her head to catch a glimpse of Rosa’s tummy.  
“Is that… him? Roark, was it?”

“Uuuhh… Yeah?”  
Rosa gulped, trying to get a hold of herself.  
“Say ‘Hi’, Roark…!”

(“HI, ROARK!”), He sang, WAY too cheerful for comfort.

Cynthia laughed.  
“I’m so glad I ran into you, Rosa. We should hang out, sometime…”

They exchanged numbers. It was a bit like a fever dream.

~13~

After Cynthia had left, Rosa took a few deep breaths and tried to compose herself.  
She didn’t like to be… vulnerable like that, with Roark around. You had to draw the line somewhere.

(“Sooo… What do you think…? That was nice, right?”) Roark said.

Blissfully, she was able to channel her inner ice-princess again by now.  
She checked her nails.  
“I guess so. It’s probably just the novelty value. You heard what she said - I’m a MEME now. I doubt she’ll ever actually call me…"

(“But you could always call HER, you know.”)

Rosa smiled. Why not… Stranger things have happened.  
Either way, she loved how… normal she started to feel again.

(“I for one will never get used to people just being… FINE with all this”), Roark wondered, (“Especially everyone we meet who’s from Unova. They’re just like ‘Yeah, that’s what happens, folks, that’s what happens’. Holy depths.”)

“You know what they say…” Rosa softly started to sing.  
“~Everything goes in Unova/ Baby, let the good times roll/ If there’s a law you can duck it/ If you catch it, you can…~”

(“MOM!! Gross!”) Roark protested.  
Then his head turned hot like molten lava.

Rosa squeaked.  
“You SAID it! You finally said it!!”

(“No! NO! Shut up! I didn’t say anything! It was a horrible, HORRIBLE accident! You have no witnesses!! I want to talk to my lawyer…!!”)

“So… Not your mama?”, she asked, her voice dripping with honey.

(“Still not my mama!”)

Rosa shrugged.  
“Eh. You’ll come around eventually.”

Rosa sat down on a plush sofa in the entry hall, and so they just stayed there for a while, digesting their meal - as well as recent events. But before long, Rosa found she was staring at herself in a hallway mirror again.

“Roark… I want to DO something. Go out. Celebrate. We’ve been cooped up in the house way too long.”

(“Are you sure…?“) Roark yawned, lulled by the gurgling of her guts.  
("It’s been a really long day, I’m kinda surprised you can even move, still. Not to mention… I do feel weird about you parading me around in public like that…”)

“Don’t worry! We’ll play it cool. It’s all gonna be very low-key.”

(“Riiiiight. Like ANYTHING is ever "low-key” with you… “)

Rosa pulled a pair of shades out of her purse and put it on, then held up another pair in front of her belly, right where she thought Roark’s face was.

"Low-key”, she whispered.

~14~

After a little stroll through town and a bit of window shopping, they found a pub that appeared reasonably inviting. While… Cynthia wasn’t there, other people from the exam had flocked there as well, some in order to celebrate, others to drown their sorrow.

They actually had a bouncer, which was more than a bit ridiculous. Obviously, Rosa caught his eye, and so he started “playfully” pestering her, for no other reason than that he could.

-“So… why should I let YOU in here, little lady?”

“I literally ATE the last man who got in my way. Now I’m full, so I’d have to get more creative.”  
She poked her belly.  
“Here are my references.”

(“Good evening, kind Sir. Roark my name, gym leader. I am The Man.”)

So that settled that.

Rosa was delighted to find that a dark corner of the pub, not too far from the dance floor, offered giant beanbags to sit in.

Now that she was here, though, she felt a bit lost.  
“Uhm… I guess we should get something to drink…? That’s not gonna mess with our meds, at this hour, is it…?”

(“Guarapita.”)

“Beg your pardon?”

(“If you are taking requests, Guarapita it is. I could really use one of those right now.”)

She shrugged.  
“Sure. Why not. It’s your credit card, after all.”

(“Nice. Wait… what?”)

It turned out that they had a similar taste when it came to alcoholic beverages, which was definitely a bonus.

After a few drinks, she noticed that her legs were shaking, that her jaw was clenched, that her buttocks seemed to be full of swarming bugs.  
There was so much pent-up energy it made her ANGRY. She took a deep breath through her nose.

“Enough slacking off!”, she said, clumsily rising up from the beanbag, “I want to DANCE.”

(“W-wait…”) Roark stuttered, (“What do you mean, “dance”? HERE? You can’t be serious…?“)

“Oh, I’m plenty serious.”

(“Rosa! Rosa. I know it’s been a while, but try to visualize me. Does that look like a DANCING man, to you? In front of a bunch of people?! I’m terrified.”)

“Oh come on, no one is even gonna SEE you! And I’m the one doing all the work! Of course, I DO expect you to pull your weight… Just like we practiced!”

(“Rosa, I’m serious, I’m all freezing up…! Can we maybe not…!”)

And then a new song started playing.

~One more drink, got one more Bacardi / One more dance at this afterparty/ We still going, going strong…~

Rosa grinned widely.

“You HEAR that, Roark? We are SO on.”

(“Nononononono…”)

But of course, there was nothing he could do to stop her.

Rosa started swinging, slowly at first, but as the song accelerated, so did she, strategically using the momentum of their combined mass, just as in the morning workout, and Roark, having to pick between doing his part in managing their balance or risking a catastrophic crash, finally started playing along - afraid, but also increasingly… exhilarated.

For both of them, it all became a blur of sounds and movement, as they were turning, turning, swinging, going up and down. Rosa barely even noticed the little circular space that had formed around her, and the euphoric cheers of the other dancers. Luckily, Rosa’s big old biker boots didn’t crush the toes of anyone who was sober enough to notice or care.

At some point, Rosa even grabbed a girl out of the crowd, twirled and dipped her.

When Rosa finally stopped and stumbled back into the beanbag, even Roark was laughing.

~15~

A lady on a barstool next to her, who’d been watching Rosa for a while and grown increasingly distressed, finally decided to lean in and, gesturing towards her belly, she said:

“Miss… please excuse me, I don’t want to be rude, but I really don’t think you should drink so much alcohol… it is really bad for your… baby…"  
After quickly analyzing the size of the belly again:  
“…Babies…?”

The occupant of said belly elected that very moment to make himself heard again.  
(“Ey! Why did you stop up there? Where’s the booze? I’m drying up! Pickle me like I’m the summer harvest, sister! I wanna be in good spirits! Ha! Get it? IN GOOD SPIRITS.”)

~16~

Rosa was walking next to the river. The stars had come out. They were singing together.

“~…Where is my angel fallen / Down at the river bottom / And will she get away? … ~”

(“Maybe it’s the booze talking”), Roark said, (“but you’ve got a BEAUTIFUL singing voice.”)

“Heh. Right back at you.”  
Rosa blushed, glad that he couldn’t see her face.

"Say, I’m starving, again. I think I’m just gonna grab a big old slice of pizza over there.”

(“You sure got my vote, partner.”)

“I do, huh”, she said mockingly, “Honestly, I’m kinda horrified how I’m always going for bizarre, fatty foods, these days. That’s all you, Mister. Remember that time I emptied a whole tub of honey on a hamburger?”

(“Still sounds like a sound decision to me.”)

They found a nice bench to sit on.  
"I just hope there is a folk saying about pizza stains on white dresses being good luck…”

And after Rosa was done with the pizza:  
“You know, it’s weeeeird. Obviously, I don’t feel hunger or ‘being full’ quite the same way I used to - it’s a whole different sensation, really - but ever since I ate you, I’ve actually… had a lot LESS trouble with food? Fun fact, before our… vore thing, I hadn’t eaten in 3 days… Now that I think about it, that might have influenced my decision, back then…”

(“…Wait… 3 DAYS…?!”)

She was almost startled by the sheer intensity of his alarm.

“Uhm, yeah”… Rosa hesitated, but then she found it was a bit like jumping from a diving tower - before you know it, there’s no turning back; “I might have a teensy little eating disorder.”

Roark repressed a scream, and gulped.  
(“… I… I’m so sorry…”)

Rosa could feel him fidgeting inside of her. She closed her eyes and leaned back with a little smile.  
“Express yourself, Mister. Say what you have to say.”

(“I… I didn’t think I could feel any DUMBER, and yet I keep surprising myself. I’m so sorry, Rosa. I can’t believe I missed something that was SO… all up in my face like that, the whole time. I REALLY wish I could kick myself.”)

Rosa chuckled meekly.  
“Yeah, you weren’t really perceptive there, buster.”

Roark summoned what little strength he had, pressing forward. He was at a loss for words, but this was important.  
(“…So… do you want to talk about it…?”)

Rosa sighed.  
“Maybe…? I dunno. It’s weird. But the strangest thing is, in this situation, I HAVE to eat more like a normal human person - well, a lot more than one normal human person -, because it’s not just about me anymore, you see…? I roped you into this, and now I’m… responsible. So all things considered, I’m not doing so bad right now! It’s kinda gross obviously. It… It’s not a pretty, fashionable eating disorder, we’re talking about here.”

(“I may just be a layman, but I don’t think there is such a thing. Holy depths.”)

“I guess you’re right… I have never talked to anyone about this, you know. I mean, besides a few doctors and therapists.”

(“Another milestone for us, right there… But seriously, Rosa…?”)  
His voice was cracking.  
(“Thank you for talking to me. It means a lot. You can’t even imagine.”)

Rosa gulped.  
“We just have that kind of friendship now, huh?”

(“Sure looks that way. Hey… Does that mean you’re gonna let me out early, for good behavior…?”)

Rosa chuckled.  
“Nice try, buster.”

("Please stop quoting that creepy obituary you wrote for me.")

Of course if poor little Roark had been capable of rubbing two braincells together, he would have guessed by now that "good behavior” was about the LEAST promising strategy to get out of her anytime soon… and Rosa was rather grateful for him being naive like that.

Rosa patted her belly, gathered all of her courage, and started telling the story from the beginning. Some of it, at least.

~17~

It was far too late to try and drive home at this point - not to mention that they still weren’t entirely sober yet.  
Against all odds, they managed to find a decent hotel room near the convention center.

Rosa slid out of her dress and under the covers. Sleeping with that big tummy was always a bit of a challenge, especially in an unfamiliar bed, seeing how it limited her options - but Rosa had to admit to herself that she liked not sleeping alone anymore.  
She actually liked that a lot. Not that she’d ever tell Roark that.

“Good night, Roark.”

(“Good night, Rosa…”)

While Roark stayed awake a little bit longer, as he was still… digesting what they had talked about earlier, Rosa drifted off to sleep fairly quickly.

In fact, she slept better than she had in ages.


	4. Belly run (Last Part)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so a new day begings...

~18~

Rosa blinked. The light of the morning sun was tickling her nose with warm kisses, and little specks of glittering dust were dancing through the hotel room.  
A sleepy smile appeared on her face.  
“…Oh wow. I feel GREAT! The last time I drank THAT much alcohol, I had the hangover of the century. But no, I’m fresh as a daisy! How is my “plus one” doing this morning…?“

She gently poked her belly, and was rewarded with an inhuman yelp.

(“Uuuuuh… Why do you have to SHRIEK like that… Oooooooooh… My HEAD…”)

Rosa chuckled.  
“Mystery solved. Good morning, Roark.”

(“This is… unbearable… Could you pleeeeeeeeease hurry up and digest me already…”)

“Maybe later. Either way, We’d Like To Thank You For Your Noble Sacrifice… my little booze sponge. Hehe.”

He groaned even harder when Rosa cheerfully rolled out of bed.

“You do realize what we’re gonna do next, right?”

(“Ohhh… Oh no… please don’t no…”)

“MORNING WORKOUT!”


	5. EPILOGUE (Not optional, canon)

Rosa couldn’t resist anymore. This had been rolling around in her brain for way too long.

"Roark, out of curiosity… What WOULD happen if we told your mother about all this? We’ll have to do that eventually, right?”

He thought about this for a moment. (“Worst-case scenario? A shot-gun wedding.”)

“A what now.”

(“Shot-gun wedding. The thing you need to understand about my mama is, she is a very traditionally- minded woman. ‘You devour my son, you gotta put a ring on it’ - that’s totally something she’d say.”)

Rosa saw herself in a beautiful wedding gown, nervously clutching a bouquet of wildflowers. Around her belly, they had fastened a black belt with a little bow tie on it. Her side of the aisle was filled up with attractive young women crying their hearts out and hugging Rosa-themed body pillows. Just behind her head, there was the clicking sound of an angry mother loading a shotgun.

Rosa shuddered. That was quite alright. You could always use more nightmare fuel.

“Yeeeeah… Let’s keep a lid on the whole thing, for now.”


End file.
